Do you think you know enough about money and doing more than just keeping your head above water? We dare you to take this quiz and meet your ultimate personal finance smack down.
If you own a piece of property in the United States, which of these is filed on public record?
your mother's maiden name
your median credit score on the day you purchased your home
the floor plans of your house
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
Yeah, as any cat burglar worth even a trace of salt can tell you, it's pretty easy to get a layout of your house.
Banking secrecy laws in some countries include prison sentences for banking officials who reveal their account holders' information -- even to the government. But in one of the countries below, officials won't end up in the slammer for passing along customer data. Which is it?
Belize
Cayman Islands
Switzerland
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
Belize is right. If a court finds that a private account in the Central American country is growing because of criminal activity, bank officials must release the customer's identity.
a person who uses different identities to apply for the same credit card
a person who pays off his or her credit card balance each month
a person who makes payments on his or her credit card balance incrementally
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
Credit card companies drool over revolvers, customers who pay their debt down incrementally, while their balances continue to grow. These are the people companies make the most money off of, thanks to interest rates.
Prenuptial agreements created in one country are often recognized in other countries, under the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Matrimonial Regimes. Which of these countries does not recognize prenuptial agreements in any form?
United Kingdom
Israel
Peru
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
If you're all about gold digging but you're bound by a prenuptial agreement you couldn't get around, you might want to figure out a way to get divorced in the U.K.
Which of these can potentially damage your credit score the most?
making late payments
closing a credit account with a low balance and high limit
making only the minimum monthly payment
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
Paying bills late affects your credit score the most. Late payments go on your credit history, which makes up 35 percent of your score. In second place is closing a credit account with a high limit and low balance, because your debt-to-credit ratio makes up 30 percent of your score.
Countrywide Financial reported that 58 percent of the foreclosures its customers faced were because of:
illness
divorce
curtailment of income
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
Curtailment of income was the reason for 58 percent of Countrywide's foreclosures in 2007. Second was illness or medical reasons (13 percent), and third was divorce (8 percent).
What's the big leg up that Roth IRA retirement accounts offer people over 401(k)s?
Roth IRAs usually have employer contribution matching programs.
Roth IRAs require you to pay taxes on contributions up front, which could mean a lower rate.
Roth IRAs are tax free.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
Yep, tax up front means no tax later on. With taxes generally increasing as the years go by, paying taxes when you contribute generally means you'll pay a lower rate than you will in the future.
